Pablo Curatella Manes (Argentinian, 1891-1962) A bronze plaque depicting 'Lancelot and Guinevere'Pablo Curatella Manes (Argentinian, 1891-1962): A bronze plaque depicting 'Lancelot and Guinevere'the stylised figure of Guinevere with long flowing hair embracing the kneeling figure of Lancelot, signed Manes to the top left hand corner, the side with Valsuani Paris, foundry mark to one corner, dark brown patination, 28.4cm x 20cmProvenance:Collection of Michael Black, sculptor (British, 1928-2019), thence by descent. Amongst many commissions, Black sculpted the Oxford Sheldonian Emperors' heads, the bronze busts of former prime ministers Sir Alec Douglas-Home and Sir Harold Macmillan, as well as portrait subjects in the National Portrait Gallery and private collections.A larger terracotta plaque measuring 65cm x 43cm of the same subject, possibly from the estate of Manes and recorded as being executed by the sculptor in 1925 was sold Christies New York, Latin American Sale, sale 1841, 1st June 2007, lot 191 ($19,200 including buyers premium). The present lot is a bronze reduction of this same subject, cast by the prestigious Valsuani foundry in Paris, presumably as a limited edition in the late 1920s or early 1930s. The inspiration for the subject of Lancelot and Guinevere presumably comes from the French origins of the Arthurian legends and texts, which were derived from the medieval writer Chretien de Troyes who penned the quintessential romance 'Le Chevalier au lion'.Pablo Curatella ManesBorn in Buenos Aire, Manes' interest in sculpture was most likely fired as a child by frequent visits with his mentor Arturo Dresco to the then newly opened La Plata Fine Arts Museum. Enrolling at the National Fine Arts School in 1907 he was subsequently expelled due to bad behaviour but still managed to secure an apprenticeship in 1908 under Lucio Correa Morales. Manes later travelled extensively in Europe, spending time in Florence and Rome before having his first exhibition in Buenos Aires in 1912. He returned to Europe, settling in Paris before the outbreak of the First World War, but was forced to return to Argentina. However in 1917 he secured a scholarship in Paris under Maillol, Maurice Denis and Paul Sérusier. A second scholarship in 1920 allowed him to permanently settle in the city where he studied under Henri Laurens, Juan Gris, Constantin Brâncuși and Le Corbusier. It was during this period that Manes explored Cubism and his sculptures became noticeably more 'avant-garde'. Manes married the French painter Germaine Derbecqre in 1922 and in 1926 took up a post at the Argentine Embassy. He was subsequently commissioned to create wall reliefs for the Argentine Pavilion in the 1937 Paris Exhibition and his monumental 'Tierra Argentina' and 'Los Dos Hemisferios' ("Argentina" and "The Two Hemispheres") won him a place on the Paris Exhibition's sculpture jury. After this he was made an Officer of the Légion d'honneur. During Manes' diplomatic tenure he re-instated the Salon des Indépendants, which had been banned under the Vichy regime. In 1949 he was transferred from Paris to the Embassy in Athens before finally returning to Buenos Aires, where he died in 1962, aged 70.